His daily acts in his life lead him to being beautified - translation: nominated for sainthood. The reader is left wondering, should he be made a saint? He does selfless wonderful things all the time, but lies in so doing. What do you think?
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Unamuno - What Makes A Saintly Person?
I'm working with a student who is reading college level Spanish literature and Unamuno, a Spanish writer from the 1920-30's, writes this story about a Priest who practices in the mountain village that he grew up in. He is kind, helping people in all walks of their life. When they are dying he holds their hands and comforts them, assuring them of the angels and peacefulness of heaven. The catch is he doesn't believe there is an afterlife. He essentially believes it is more important to give his congregation the comfort of their faith and help them be happy in this, then acknowledge his own disbelief in heaven and hell.
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What do I think? I think it's a moot point. If the priest is "right" or correct in his belief that there is no afterlife, then his being made a saint will have no impact, since there will be no afterlife for him to go to to be a saint. If he is "wrong" in his belief and there is an afterlife, and he is made a saint, he will be in a better position to keep helping people as he did on earth.
ReplyDeleteTHis is what I think. Perhaps what the author intended was to highlight that it is not what happens after one's death that should determine who is a saint and who is not, but how the person lives his/her life on earth that defines a saint. Would this priest be a saint because the church canonized him, or would this priest be a saint because he lived his life as one?
I like the polka dot background.
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